Delineation of Geologic Roof Hazards in Selected Coal Beds in Eastern Kentucky--With Landsat Imagery Studies in Eastern Kentucky and the Dunkard Basin

摘要

This study investigated stratigraphic and structural causes of roof falls in room-and-pillar drift coal mines in nine mines in eastern Kentucky. A contract modification provided for remote sensing studies in the Dunkard Basin of West Virginia and Pennsylvania. Results of stratigraphic and structural studies of an earlier study were applied to several new mines. It was found that similar rock sequences contributed to unstable roof conditions. Structure contour and isopach maps were useful in projecting these trends together with fence diagrams. Using Landsat imagery, a direct relationship was found between lineament direction and the trends of rock jointing, roof fall zones, 'snap top' zones, and sandstone channels. From 50 to 65 percent coincided with roof falls when lineament intersections were analyzed.